❓ Hon. Louise Kingston questions the Dept. of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions on certification for ecological thinning operations, and the Minister responds that certification isn't needed as the program focuses on forest health, not timber production, with existing reporting processes providing assurance.
AnsweredQoN 1123Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
FORESTRY —
ECOLOGICAL THINNING
1123. Hon LOUISE KINGSTON to the parliamentary secretary representing the
Minister for Environment:
In the past, WA's timber
harvesting operations have been certified to Responsible Wood's
sustainable forest management standard. This has provided an independent
assurance on the quality of management, as well as ensuring that timber buyers
can buy sustainably managed timber product. The ecological thinning of the
forests of up to 8 000 hectares a year will produce significant quantities of
wood.
(1) As the Department
of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions has taken over responsibility for
forest thinning, will it be seeking to obtain certification of its operations?
(2) If no to (1),
why not; and will the government gain independent assessment as to the quality
of its forest management, in particular its ecological thinning, and how will
it do this?
ECOLOGICAL THINNING
1123. Hon LOUISE KINGSTON to the parliamentary secretary representing the
Minister for Environment:
In the past, WA's timber
harvesting operations have been certified to Responsible Wood's
sustainable forest management standard. This has provided an independent
assurance on the quality of management, as well as ensuring that timber buyers
can buy sustainably managed timber product. The ecological thinning of the
forests of up to 8 000 hectares a year will produce significant quantities of
wood.
(1) As the Department
of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions has taken over responsibility for
forest thinning, will it be seeking to obtain certification of its operations?
(2) If no to (1),
why not; and will the government gain independent assessment as to the quality
of its forest management, in particular its ecological thinning, and how will
it do this?
AnswerView source ↗
I
thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. I respond on
behalf of the parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for
Environment, and provide the following answer on behalf of the Minister for
Environment.
(1) Certification
was used by the Forest Products Commission to facilitate market access for
timber products under commercial operations. Under the Forest management
plan 2024–2033 the ecological thinning program is undertaken to
promote forest health, not timber production, with forest products able to be
salvaged for use in WA.
(2) Under the
FMP, a number of reporting processes support assurance on environmental
management standards and outcomes of forest management, with opportunities for
stakeholder engagement. These include periodic assessments of implementation of
the FMP undertaken by the Conservation and Parks Commission, with publication
of its reports in years five and 10; independent review of the performance of
ecological thinning to inform the periodic assessments; preparation of an
annual ecological thinning plan; and implementation of the forest health
monitoring program.
thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. I respond on
behalf of the parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for
Environment, and provide the following answer on behalf of the Minister for
Environment.
(1) Certification
was used by the Forest Products Commission to facilitate market access for
timber products under commercial operations. Under the Forest management
plan 2024–2033 the ecological thinning program is undertaken to
promote forest health, not timber production, with forest products able to be
salvaged for use in WA.
(2) Under the
FMP, a number of reporting processes support assurance on environmental
management standards and outcomes of forest management, with opportunities for
stakeholder engagement. These include periodic assessments of implementation of
the FMP undertaken by the Conservation and Parks Commission, with publication
of its reports in years five and 10; independent review of the performance of
ecological thinning to inform the periodic assessments; preparation of an
annual ecological thinning plan; and implementation of the forest health
monitoring program.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.